Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger Jack Dougherty, president of North Jersey Area Local 190; leads union postal workers as they chant slogans during a protest by US postal workers outside the offices of Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen in Morristown.

The bill would allow the postal service to use money from its pension surplus to pay for current financial obligations, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers. It currently has 216 House sponsors, including 11 of the 13 New Jersey representatives.

Frelinghuysen and Rep. Scott Garett (R-5th Dist.) are the two members of the New Jersey delegation who have not signed onto the bill. Frelinghuysen did not respond to requests for comment.

"We need this bill to pass," said Joseph Lisi, who works at the Saddle Brook Post Office. He has put in 31 years of service and is afraid he might lose his job if the bill doesn’t pass.

"I can’t afford to get laid off," he said.

The four postal unions — American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union and National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association — planned to rally in front of every congressional office.

"Members of Congress are obviously hearing from concerned workers, business people and citizens who are demanding that Congress act," Myke Reid, Legislative and Political Director for the American Postal Workers Union, said in a prepared statement.

"But we’ve got to keep the pressure to save postal jobs and services."

The post office provides a vital service and must be protected, said Michael Levine, a retired postal worker.

"We serve every household in this country for 44 cents a letter," he said. "Think about that."